Persistence is key: investigating innovative problem solving by Asian elephants using a novel multi-access box.

Innovative problem solving is considered a hallmark measure of behavioral flexibility as it describes behavior by which an animal manipulates its environment in a novel way to reach a goal. Elephants are a highly social taxa that have demonstrated a remarkable capacity for adapting to changing environments. To understand how individual differences in behavior impact expressions of innovation, we used a novel extractive foraging device comprised of three compartments to evaluate innovation in 14 captive Asian elephants.

Longitudinal assessment of a Dental and Medical Student Service program in Appalachia: Successes and lessons learned.

Objectives: Recruiting/retaining healthcare professionals within rural and underserved communities in the United States remains a challenge. The West Virginia University Institute for Community and Rural Health implemented a service scholarship program in 2011 to address a lack of dental and primary care.

Methods: Dental and medical students commit to practice 12-months full time following graduation in a Health Profession Shortage Area (HPSA) or Rural Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) in West Virginia for each $25,000 received.

Nicotine Self-Administration With Tobacco Flavor Additives in Male Rats.

Introduction: Nicotine can robustly increase responding for conditioned reinforcers (CRs), stimuli that acquire reinforcing properties based on association with primary reinforcers. Menthol and licorice are tobacco flavoring agents also found in sweet foods (eg, candy and ice cream), making them putative CRs before they are consumed in tobacco. We sought to determine if intravenous self-administration (IVSA) of nicotine was enhanced by the inclusion of oral tobacco flavor CRs.